A community tragedy; remembering Diana Cupp

Before every boxing match Bronco McKart ever fought, Diana Cupp sent him a card with an uplifting note. The two weren’t linked by family ties, but Mr. McKart is a big part of the Monroe community. And community was almost as im­portant as family to Mrs. Cupp. So she took the time to always let him know that she was thinking of him and was in his corner.

“She never ever missed one,” Mr. McKart said of his fights. “She did it out of the kindness and good­ness of her heart. She was the type of person who touched your life. It was a bond.”

Her calendar was filled with names of people; people who mattered enough to her that she wanted to remember important dates to let them know she was thinking about them.

“She thought of everybody,” said her husband, David.

Photo by Tom Hawley

Melissa (Spencer) Maniaci, wearing a silver chain with her mothers picture, could not hold back here tears while discussing the lost of her mother Diana Cupp.

“That’s how she was connected to everybody,” added their daughter, Melissa Maniaci.

When the speeding pickup truck slammed into Mrs. Cupp’s car on March 26 in front of Kroger, the collision took away a beloved mother, grandmother and wife. But it also left the Monroe community without someone who cared deeply for her friends, neighbors and even strangers. After the accident, the Cupp family received stacks of cards from people in Monroe they never have met.

“It was amazing,” Melissa said. “They said ‘we feel for you’ even though we never knew them. It was very sweet.”

Because the crash happened at the noon hour at one of the busier intersections in town, it was wit­nessed by many people. And sever­al of those witnesses were brought to tears as they watched the family grieve at the scene. It was a family tragedy in a very public place.

A LIFE FILLED WITH LOVE

By most accounts, the lives of David Cupp and Diana Lajiness were typical of many in Monroe. He’s a self-proclaimed hillbilly with roots in the South, and she was a French Catholic with a last name that almost everyone around here recognizes.

They met as teenagers at the old Denniston Drive-In when he was only 15, not even old enough to drive. But Mr. Cupp knew deep down she was the one. So within a few years they were married. He eventually got a job at Ford, like so many others, and it paid enough so she could stay home to raise the kids, Melissa, now 37 and Miss Monroe County 1995, and David II, 35.

They moved to their house on LaPlaisance Rd. and life moved forward. Eventually the kids grew, Mr. Cupp retired and the grandkids started coming. And Gram was at the center of it all. She adored all seven of those kids and smothered them with love equally, never favor­ing one over the other, even the only girl. She had written poems for each.

“All the kids worshipped Gram,” said David, the son.

“Everybody was equal,” Mr. Cupp added. “There were no favorites.”

For Mr. Cupp and his wife, life was filled with spending time to­gether traveling. They took cruises and trips all over the world and Mrs. Cupp documented them all with her love of photography. Her pictures adorn the walls throughout the house, reminders of better days. In a few months the Cupps were to celebrate their 40th wedding an­niversary.

Debi Bezeau is the youngest of the Lajiness kids. She and Diana, the second oldest, were so close they communicated daily. Even when Diana was away on a cruise with her husband, she would sneak away for a bit just to text her sister to see what was up.

Photo by Tom Hawley

Debi Bezeau, sister of Diana Cupp, cannot hold back her tears thinking of her sister who was killed in a automobile accident.

“ We were so much alike,” Debi said. “ We thought alike. We were twins.”

So it was no surprise that both of them coincidentally ended up at Kroger that awful day. Diana was putting groceries into her car when they briefly chatted then went their separate ways. It was a typical day when both sisters were performing routine tasks. But in a matter of moments everything changed.

“I heard the sirens,” Debi said. “Then I heard that God-awful noise. I heard the boom.”

Her nephew, David, was at work when he noticed his phone had seven missed calls, a clear indicator something was wrong. He was on the line at Dearborn Truck, so he had to have someone cover for him. Before he could check his messages, the phone chirped again. It was his cousin. He said there had been an accident.

Quickly the family gathered on S. Monroe St. in front of Wendy’s. They hugged, cried and grieved with each other as people looked on, standing quietly behind a yellow police tape that circled the scene. Debi was inconsolable. One minute she had been chatting with her best friend; the next minute she was gone.

In difficult times, those who lose loved ones often wish they could have done something — anything — to help avoid tragic circumstances. Debi is struggling with that now.

“If only I could have talked to her for a minute longer…” she said, the words trailing away.

HURTING HEARTS

A day after the accident, the oldest sister, Donna, who had been ill, suddenly died. The family believes her heart couldn’t absorb the loss. Mary Lajiness had to endure back-to-back funerals for two of her daughters.

A little more than two weeks has passed since the accident took away the person known to many as Gram or Aunt Diane. The family describes her as the person to be emulated, respected and sought for advice. They said when someone told her she loved them, she answered with “love you more.”

“Everybody went to her for everything,” Melissa said. “She was strong.”

Photo by Tom Hawley

Melissa (Spencer) Maniaci hugs her brother David Cupp II holding their mother's picture Diana Cupp who was killed in an automobile accident.

The size of her spirit and heart defied her petite stature. She cared about others outside her circle of family and friends and she connected with people. She had a compassion for people like Darren Mc-Carty, the retired Detroit Red Wings hockey player, because their fathers suffered and died from the same disease, multiple myeloma.

In one area of the house, autographed photos of Mrs. Cupp and former Red Wings, like Kris Draper and Brendan Shanahan, cover the walls. She grew to know them because she attended events for The McCarty Cancer Foundation.

Last week, family members gathered at the Cupp home to talk about her and her dedication to family and the people in Monroe. Mr. Cupp didn’t want to talk about the accident or the 18-yearold man sitting in jail for causing it when he fled from police.

The others really didn’t have any thoughts about him either. But Melissa did. She said she doesn’t feel hatred for him or even anger. Only sympathy.

“I feel sorry for him,” Melissa said. “He made the worst decision of his life and he’s going to pay for it. I feel sorry for his family who lost a son. And I feel sorry for his son who’s going to grow up without a father.”

THANKFUL FOR SUPPORT

As the family mourns and tries to understand how life will be now, without Diana, they will rely on faith and each other and, of course, the Monroe community. The firefighters at the scene, the Merkle family and so many others have reached out to them to help ease their suffering. More than 1,000 people showed up for her funeral.

“ They were fantastic,” Mr. Cupp said. “I can’t thank them enough.”

It will never be the same. She wasn’t there for Easter, but all of the kids still had Easter baskets. And in each basket was a small framed photo of her with the word “Gram” printed on the front. She may be gone, but her spirit lives on. And whenever the family needs advice, they will refer to four simple letters: WWDD. They know that means “ What Would Diana Do?”

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